1102 Life-histories of Northern Animals 



"These little adventurers sometimes tunnel far out on the 

 sea-ice, and the Norton Sound Eskimo have a curious supersti- 

 tion connected with such stray individuals. They claim that 

 there is a kind of a water Shrew living on the ice at sea which 

 is exactly like the common land Shrew in appearance, but which 

 is endowed with demoniac quickness and power to work harm. 

 If one of them is disturbed by a person it darts at the intruder, 

 and burrowing under the skin, works about inside at random, 

 and finally enters the heart and kills him. As a consequence 

 of this belief, the hunters are in mortal terror if they chance to 

 meet a Shrew on the ice at sea, and in one case that I knew of, a 

 hunter stood immovable on the ice for several hours until a 

 Shrew he happened to meet disappeared froni sight, whereupon 

 he hurried home, and his friends all agreed that he had had a 

 very narrow escape." 



Many hawks and owls are known to destroy this Shrew. 

 At Carberry, September 29, 1884, I collected a great gray-owl 

 whose capacious maw contained nothing but one of these 

 mites. I recently received another specimen taken from the 

 stomach of a rough-legged hawk at Winnipeg, October 21, 

 1907. Many beasts of prey will prey on this least of beasts; 

 that is, they will kill it, but it has a defence somewhat like that 

 of the Skunk — a most obnoxious smell, which usually makes 

 them think twice before swallowing it. I have often found 

 Shrews dead on the path with skulls crushed, but otherwise 

 uninjured. These I believe were killed by Weasels or cats 

 that chanced to catch them scampering by, but which, on 

 second thought, could not stomach the rank, protective 

 smell with which the Shrew had enveloped itself — a little too 

 late. 



Another enemy that will slay but hardly eat the Sorex is 

 the Mink. Miller, in recording the capture of a remarkably 

 large Mink at Peninsula Harbor, Ont., says:'" "He had fol- 

 lowed the water's edge closely most of the way, but occasionally 

 had made short excursions up the beach in search of prey. 



'°Mam. Ont., Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., 1897, p. 43. 



